Shadow Demons 5: Kiss of the Demon Rose
by Higuchimon
Summary: No one ever told Yuusuke that loving a demon prince meant having to pluck a rose that has opinions on being plucked, much less being a demonic floral delivery service.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
 **Fandom:** Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
 **Title:** Kiss of the Demon Rose  
 **Romance:** Ryou x Yuusuke/Yuusuke x Ryou  
 **Other Romances:** Yubel x Juudai x Johan  
 **Other Characters:** Fubuki, Honest  
 **Word Count:** chapter: 2,123|| **story:** 2,123  
 **Genre:** Romance, Drama|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Written For:** Diversity Writing Challenge, section H5, a three-shot; One Ship Boot Camp, #30, rose; Word Count Set Boot Camp, #15, 6,666; One Big Series Bingo, #006, a threeshot; Valentine's Day to White Day 2015, day #18, include a character giving another a flower; Advent 2015, day #22, write an AU; New Year's Mini-Advent 2015-2016, write a fic between 5k-8 k  
 **Notes:** This takes place in my Shadow Demons universe, where Ryou is a demon prince, Yuusuke is a shadow mage, Fubuki is an angel, and now introducing Juudai, Yubel, and Johan.  
 **Summary:** Many people wish to give flowers to the ones that they love. The king of the demons isn't any different in that regard. No one ever told Yuusuke that loving a demon prince meant having to pluck a rose that has opinions on being plucked, much less being a demonic floral delivery service.

* * *

Yuusuke stood just outside of the circle, the thirteen round stones that made it up glowing in starlight. There wasn't any moon tonight; he'd been instructed to work this spell only on the dark of the moon.

He cast a quick glance over his shoulder to where Ryou stood, arms folded over his chest, the spade-shaped tip of his tail flicking ever so gently. That alone told Yuusuke that he wasn't especially thrilled about this.

"I don't have to do this," he offered, and Ryou shook his head at once.

"Yes, you do. Either you call him or I have to go there." And he did not look any more thrilled about the latter option.

Yuusuke did not sigh, but he turned his attention back to the circle. Only the two of them stood here; the message they'd received had been very clear that Honest and Fubuki weren't welcome for this meeting. Yuusuke didn't know where they'd gone off to, though he didn't think it was all that far. Even after five years of wandering the world, Honest didn't completely trust Ryou, much less any other demon. So he would likely be somewhere where he could count as 'not here' but able to see what was going on and if Yuusuke would need any help.

He concentrated on the spell as he began to weave it. It was stronger and more intense than any he'd ever done, even the one that ended up calling Ryou to him. At least this time he was summoning one of the greater demons on purpose. He assumed it was a greater demon. There weren't many who could give commands that _Ryou_ would obey, reluctant as he was.

Scarlet smoke filled the stone circle as he chanted, concealing the center from sight. As he came to the end of the spell, he spoke a name. It wasn't a true name; he could tell that much. But it was a name of power nonetheless, power that put Ryou to shame.

Moments after he'd uttered the name, the smoke cleared, revealing a figure lounging back on the large rock that had been in the center. In accordance with the summoning, Yuusuke had set a bowl of fried shrimp there. The figure there now munched on one of them.

He didn't look like a demon. He didn't have wings or horns or a tail. He looked amazingly human, simple dark hair and an ordinary tunic and trousers of red and dark gray.

But then he sat up and looked at Yuusuke and his eyes glowed like new-minted gold and the power that he radiated sent Yuusuke down on one knee without even thinking about it.

"Hey, there!" He waved at Ryou cheerfully. "It's been a while, hasn't it?"

"Yes, it is." Ryou stepped up behind Yuusuke and rested a hand on his shoulder. "What is it you wish?"

"Gee, why don't you sound happier to see me?" The demon king, for that was who this had to be, laughed, a merry sound unlike anything Yuusuke had ever heard before.

Ryou's hand tightened on Yuusuke's shoulder. "Because you never want to see anyone who isn't Yubel or Johan unless there's trouble of some kind."

"You're wrong." The king pouted. Yuusuke had never imagined that he would see the king of Hell itself pout, but he did. His life ever since meeting Ryou had been a chain of events he'd never thought would happen.

But now the king stood up and brushed himself off and looked at them both. "You're right on one thing. I do need some help, but there's no _trouble_ going on."

Ryou remained silent, but Yuusuke could sense the slight raising of his curiosity. He wished he knew who Johan and Yubel were and what relation they had to the king. Ryou hadn't ever told him that much about Hell or it's hierarchy and now he really thought it was information he needed.

"It's our anniversary soon. I need to get something for Yubel and I know what I want, but I can't get it, because if I went to get it, Yubel would know that I left, and there wouldn't be a surprise anymore." He fidgeted, looking like nothing so much as a simple human with a small problem, as long as Yuusuke didn't look at his eyes. Those were not the eyes of a human.

Ryou let out a long-suffering sigh. "And why are you asking _us_?"

"Because what I want to get is on Earth and you're the only demon who is spending any time up here who would actually be able to get it for me."

Yuusuke swallowed and decided that this wasn't going to just be a conversation between Ryou and the king. "What is it, Your Majesty?" After all, if they were going to go somewhere, then he needed to know if they really _could_ get there. He would know that better than Ryou would.

He could feel the cool weight of the king's regard on him a heartbeat later. It was much like Ryou's attention but far weightier and more powerful. Then the king spoke.

"You definitely chose a good one here. He's got some nerve. I like that."

Cool fingers seized hold of Yuusuke's chin and tilted his head so that his eyes met those of the king. He hadn't even seen the demon coming closer to him. He hadn't even known that the demon could reach through the circle. But it hadn't been to enclose a demon, he recalled, just to make certain there was a safe space there where no one could detect him.

Apparently there were a lot of people who didn't want the king of Hell to make even a half hour's visit to Earth.

"I want a Demon Rose. They grow in a garden tended by a descendent of Johan's ancestors. Only a demon and a human working together can enter the garden and claim one of them. The owner won't protest if you can get through the challenges."

Yuusuke swallowed again, steeling himself. "And if we can't get through them?"

The king chuckled, though there wasn't a hint of amusement in his eyes. "Then you'll die, of course. My dear prince here won't, but he'll welcome you to Hell when you get there. So it's not that much of a problem, except I won't have what I want."

Ryou's grip tightened even more. "One Demon Rose. That's it?"

"If I wanted anything else, I would've said so. Bring it to the palace when you've got it." Then he looked over to the left, eyes glowing, and snorted. "Oh, I suppose your angels can go with you if you really insist. Pesky things, aren't they?"

"I wouldn't be here to do this for you if it weren't for Fubuki," Ryou said, a hint of dry humor in his tone. The king grinned, a look of bright joy in the expression.

"Maybe I'll thank him for it one day, then."

In between one breath and the next he vanished, taking the bowl of fried shrimp with him. Yuusuke looked in the direction he had and wasn't surprised to see Honest and Fubuki coming toward them.

"He wants you to get a Demon Rose." Honest did not look pleased. But he seldom did when the demons were involved.

Fubuki's eyes lit up with a joy all of his own at Ryou's nod. "Oh, that is just _lovely_. Those three are so wonderful together. Some of my best work."

"Should I ask?" Yuusuke wondered as he pulled himself to his feet. Ryou tapped him on the shoulder.

"You should know the answer to that by now."

Yuusuke managed a small smile, even as tired as he found he was now. Summoning took a great deal out of him, especially when what he summoned was as powerful as the King of Hell. "You're right." He shouldn't ask. But that didn't mean he didn't want to know.

He shook his head, trying to clear his thoughts and not having a lot of luck doing so. He knew what he needed, and with his demon prince and his angels in tow, he headed back to the inn where they'd rented a room for the night. It would have a soft bed and plenty of good food and in the morning he could figure out just where they were going to go and how in the world they could get there.

* * *

Ryou wished at times that he could do _something_ to convey to Juudai exactly how unwelcome some of his visits were. Being the King of Hell did give the guy some perks, though, which included telling lesser demons – and that was every demon who wasn't Juudai or Yubel themselves – to do things for him if he wouldn't or couldn't do them for himself.

Part of the bargain that kept Johan with Juudai meant that the demon king couldn't get the rose for himself, no matter how much he wanted to. Anywhere Johan's blood still lived was off limits to him. But other demons could go there if they dared. So far, in the last thousand years, none of them had.

But that would change now. Ryou had never been to the garden, but he knew where it was, and he'd heard rumors about the challenges they would have to undergo to get there. There was indeed a real chance that Yuusuke might die, and anyone who died in that garden would be damned by default.

He still hadn't managed to convince Yuusuke to make a pact with him that would leave them bound to one another and make Yuusuke immortal, or at the least very long-lived, and bound to come to Ryou when he did die. All they had keeping them together now was the spell that Fubuki had tricked him into casting five years ago, a mere droplet of time in Ryou's endless life, and if anyone broke it, then Ryou would be cast back into Hell.

Not that he expected it to happen; someone would have to know his true name for that, and aside from Honest, Fubuki, and Yuusuke, no one in this world knew it.

But going to this garden put Yuusuke at risk and if anyone else had told him about this, he would've told them to forget the very idea. One didn't tell Juudai no, though. Not having something wasn't a concept the King of Hell understood.

If they were mortal, it would even be somewhat sweet. Bringing flowers to the one that you loved, asking someone else to do it only because they would notice if you were gone that long to get them.

But they weren't mortal and this had so much risk to it. Risk to himself Ryou would never care about. Risk to those few who held a small slice of his heart? That he _always_ cared about.

Yuusuke slept next to him on the inn bed, his energy only slightly revived by the meal he'd had. The sleep would do much more for him. He would be ready to hit the road in the morning, and they could probably get far enough out of town for Ryou to take them to the garden and get this mission taken care of.

He touched the tips of his talons to Yuusuke's forehead. Sometimes he changed a little so his fingers were more like human fingers than a demon's claws. But those times were far more intimate than what he did now. He refused to let anyone hurt Yuusuke. Yuusuke was _his_ and he was Yuusuke's. If that meant shredding someone down to nothing, then he would gladly do so.

Demons didn't need sleep the way that humans did, but there were times when he found it worthwhile to close his eyes and let himself rest for a time. It cleared his head and let him focus more, as well as passing the time until Yuusuke woke once again.

He knew the angels were talking about how dangerous this was and they didn't have half the information that he did about the garden. If they did, then they wouldn't want to go there any more than he already did. He would have to tell them about it before they got there. It wouldn't be the most pleasant chat they'd ever had over breakfast, but he wanted it settled before they got started.

He closed his eyes, folded his wings around himself and Yuusuke, and let himself relax enough so that he could sleep. Whatever happened, he would do whatever he needed to stay with Yuusuke, or have Yuusuke stay with him. The angels would just have to accept that. If he could, they could.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
 **Fandom:** Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
 **Title:** Kiss of the Demon Rose  
 **Romance:** Ryou x Yuusuke/Yuusuke x Ryou  
 **Other Romances:** Yubel x Juudai x Johan  
 **Other Characters:** Fubuki, Honest  
 **Word Count:** chapter: 2,229|| **story:** 4,364  
 **Genre:** Romance, Drama|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Written For:** Diversity Writing Challenge, section H5, a three-shot; One Ship Boot Camp, #30, rose; Word Count Set Boot Camp, #15, 6,666; One Big Series Bingo, #006, a threeshot; Valentine's Day to White Day 2015, day #18, include a character giving another a flower; Advent 2015, day #22, write an AU; New Year's Mini-Advent 2015-2016, write a fic between 5k-8 k; One Big Series, #081, continue a pre-existing multichap  
 **Notes:** This takes place in my Shadow Demons universe, where Ryou is a demon prince, Yuusuke is a shadow mage, Fubuki is an angel, and now introducing Juudai, Yubel, and Johan.  
 **Summary:** Many people wish to give flowers to the ones that they love. The king of the demons isn't any different in that regard. No one ever told Yuusuke that loving a demon prince meant having to pluck a rose that has opinions on being plucked, much less being a demonic floral delivery service.

* * *

Don't go." Honest met Yuusuke's eyes with the combination of gentleness and firmness that meant he was exercising his power as a guardian angel. "I can't help you there."

Yuusuke let the side of his mouth quirk up. "I know. But Ryou can."

"Yuusuke." The angel did not exactly sigh, but Yuusuke could see very clearly that he didn't like any of this. "You heard what he said. If you die there, you are _damned_ from that moment. I can't change that. I can't get you out of there."

Yuusuke wrapped one hand around Honest's and smiled at him in his best reassuring manner. "That's if I die. But I won't." He was the only mortal in this group, but he'd learned enough over the years to have an idea of what he could survive on his own.

"You can't know that."

"I know that I'm going to try. Ryou needs to do this, and that means he needs me to do it with him."

Fubuki shook his head, his mouth still full of his breakfast eggs. Yuusuke knew he was the only one of them that genuinely needed to eat but frequently the other three shared meals with him anyway. Yuusuke suspected Fubuki did it only because he actually liked the sensation of eating. "You're not going to convince him to change his mind, Honest," the angel of love said. "They're both committed to this."

"If your king gave you an order, you'd obey it," Ryou added from where he sat across from Yuusuke. He wasn't eating. " _My_ king had given me one." He didn't sound especially thrilled over referring to anyone as his king.

Honest didn't look thrilled at that small point of reality, either. Instead, he shook his head. "Then I'll be with you, as much as I can be."

Yuusuke hadn't expected anything else. Honest could, would, and did argue constantly about some of the adventures that Ryou being a demon prince led them into, but he always supported Yuusuke in the end anyway. Yuusuke honestly could not imagine a life without his two angelic best friends and demonic lover.

Soon enough they finished breakfast, packed up, and headed their way out of town. As always, people stared in awe at the small group. Demons and angels weren't often seen around here. Yuusuke wouldn't have stopped here at all if there hadn't been the need to meet with King Juudai somewhere out of the way. Larger cities and towns were much less likely to try to burn him at the stake because of Ryou's presence.

Their path led by the circle and when they drew close enough, Ryou stopped.

"I can take us to the garden through there," he said. "It will be a lot faster and we are on something of a schedule."

Yuusuke didn't argue; he would much rather travel by magic when he had the option anyway. And it wasn't often at all that Ryou offered to take them anywhere under his own power.

"We'll go our own way and meet you there," Honest said at once. That also didn't surprise him; angelic magic and demonic magic didn't always work together very well.

They'd tried it once. The aftereffects had not been good in the slightest. He still couldn't remember most of the week after that and Ryou actually had been _worried_ for another two weeks once Yuusuke recovered enough to think clearly.

Yuusuke joined Ryou in heading for the stone circle. There wasn't any way that he would go with the angels; his shadow magic wasn't actually demonic, but it still didn't mesh completely with them, and did mesh much better with Ryou's. The conflicting elements were why they tended to travel by land anyway. That way they could all stay together.

Somewhere along the line, his arm slid around Ryou's waist, the broad expanse of dark-feathered wings spreading to circle him as he did. He never felt so completely safe and secure as he did when he was held like this. No matter what, he knew Ryou would defy his own King and Hell itself if he ever needed to, for Yuusuke's sake.

"Here," Ryou murmured. They'd arrived at the circle and Yuusuke started to step aside reluctantly. Ryou shook his head. "Just step inside with me."

Yuusuke didn't argue, but watched in fascination as they crossed over the stones. He could feel the magic inherent here, clearly demonic and clearly powerful, but from the outside, there hadn't been a single whiff of it.

Still with one arm around Yuusuke, Ryou began to speak in a language that Yuusuke knew he'd never be able to pronounce. The tongues of mankind could not speak the language of the demonic host. Even more power swirled up around them and Yuusuke stared at the streaks of black and red eagerly, heart racing, even more aware of just how _different_ Ryou was than he was. With just a few words, a distance that would've taken them months to cross on foot could be covered now just by stepping outside of the circle.

Ryou did so, still keeping Yuusuke within the sweep of his wings. A handful of steps outside of this new circle, which was identical to the first one, Honest and Fubuki stood. Honest looked up within seconds, a relieved smile on his lips: the same expression he wore any time Ryou took Yuusuke anywhere via demonic travel magic.

"All right, where are we and where do we have to go to get to this garden?" Yuusuke asked, once everyone had been reassured that they were all in one piece and of whatever amount of sane mind they'd been in before this happened.

"We're in the south of the kingdom of Boltwood," Ryou said. "The garden is down that path. There's a large town the other way." He indicated the two paths with a flick of his tail. "We can go there after we get the Demon Rose. I'll need somewhere to rest then."

Yuusuke looked at him right away. "Why not now?" If Ryou needed rest, that came first. They weren't on _that_ tight of a deadline, not in his opinion.

"Because I'll have to conceal myself there. The royal family of Boltwood hates all demons and goes out of the way to make certain we know we aren't welcome here." Ryou started toward the path he'd indicated led to the garden. "Being unwelcome doesn't mean we can't be here, though. Just that they don't like us coming."

Yuusuke hurried to keep up, the angels following. "Why is that?" He'd heard of a few places where demons were forbidden but not just 'unwelcome'.

Ryou smiled, a quick slash of an expression. "Because over a thousand years ago, the Demon King selected the heir to the throne of Boltwood as his mate, and Johan's family has never forgotten this." His lips turned upward but he wasn't actually smiling now. "You'd think they would be honored to be allied by marriage to us, but they aren't."

Yuusuke blinked a time or two, then nodded, taking all of that in. He wanted to find out more things in detail, but Ryou didn't look as if he wanted to talk about it, and they were already on the way to the garden. If it was as long a story as it sounded, he would prefer to hear it in much more comfortable surroundings.

* * *

There was no question on where the path ended: a wrought iron gate stood there, erected between two pillars connected by an arch. Into each pillar had been cut various signs and sigils that Yuusuke recognized as being indicators of demonic magic. The place hadn't been built by demons nor did it welcome them, but it also didn't deny them. This was a place where someone who practiced demon magic lived.

Ryou laid one hand flat in the center of the gate, marked by a piece of white marble. He said something in the demon tongue that called echoes to Yuusuke's mind of the spell he'd cast to summon Ryou once. _His name. He said his_ _ **name**_ _._ At least part of it; the full name would be more, Yuusuke thought. He hoped. Saying a demon's true name, especially by the demon himself, would be far too risky.

The gate swung open and Ryou stepped inside. Yuusuke, Honest, and Fubuki followed, Fubuki murmuring something to the effect of 'I wasn't sure if you'd actually do it'. That only got a roll of Ryou's expressive eyes and Yuusuke tried not to laugh. He wasn't very good at not laughing when it came to these two, unfortunately.

"What do you want?"

That wasn't from any of his companions. Yuusuke looked up and saw an old man there, clothes perhaps a bit finer than most peasants, but with an unmistakeable aura of regality about him. He stared at the group intently.

"Oh, I can guess what you want. Come for a Demon Rose, have you?"

Yuusuke stepped forward at that. "Yes, we have. The Demon King sent us." He chose not to use even the lesser name that he knew; it wasn't wise to bandy that around.

"I'm sure that he did. Anyway, you should know what to do, demon prince." The gardener stared at Ryou intently. "Get what you're here for and be gone. You know your kind aren't welcome here."

"Your blood protects you, old one," Ryou said, his voice deceptively calm. "But if it did not, you'd have far more to fear from me than I do from you."

The gardener glared, one hand dropping down to a knife at his waist, one that did not look crafted for pruning alone. Before he could speak another word, Fubuki and Honest both stepped forward, giving him nearly identical disapproving looks.

"You travel with two angels _and_ a demon prince?" Now the gardener addressed Yuusuke directly. "What sort of fool are you?"

"The kind who wants to get what we came for and leave," Yuusuke replied, reigning in his own temper. Those who insulted Ryou in his presence didn't often have to wait for the prince to exact his own punishment for doing so.

The gardener gave him a very stern look, then waved a hand down the path he stood in front of. "Go." He didn't wait to see if they did, but stalked down a small offshoot path. Yuusuke looked toward Ryou, who looked a little more out of sorts than the shadow mage had ever seen him before.

There wasn't any time for questions, however, as Ryou headed down the path they'd been on. Tall trees lined both sides of it, all of them bearing fruits of various kinds. Bushes gathered at the base of the trees, also thick with berries. Not all of them looked familiar to Yuusuke, but he didn't feel an urge to try to eat any of them. Anything that grew in a place that used demonic magic but didn't welcome demons wasn't a place he really wanted to dine at.

Another gate appeared farther down the way. Ryou looked at Yuusuke. "You'll have to open this one. That's the way the gates are here: one for demons to open to get inside, one for humans on the inside."

Yuusuke nodded, looking back at the gate. "Is there anything else I have to do?"

"Tell it who you are and what you're here for. The gates are enchanted only to open for people here for certain purposes, and the magic knows if you lie."

Yuusuke nodded again and took his place in front of the gate. Just like the one before, there was a square of marble in the center, this one deep black. Yuusuke set his hand on it and steeled himself.

"Fujiwara Yuusuke, shadow mage, and I am here to collect a Demon Rose, for the King of the Demons and his consort."

Energy of a kind he'd never felt before writhed up his arm and he shuddered all over. Then the gate swung open, revealing another path beyond it, this one edged in gold and the trees and bushes hung with gemstones far more brilliant than any he'd ever seen before in his life.

"The Demon Rose is at the end of this path," Ryou said, following Yuusuke, with Fubuki and Honest following him, and both of them looking very uncomfortable about it. "Picking it won't be the difficult part."

"What will be?" Yuusuke wondered.

"Persuading it that we should pick it in the first place."

Yuusuke swiveled to look at his lover. He'd heard of a great many strange things in the world, but this one sounded a little new. "Persuading a flower?"

"A Demon Rose," Fubuki corrected, that smile of his tilting his lips upward, the one that said he was vastly amused and therefore one should watch out because something was going to go wrong somewhere. "Demon Roses are every bit as intelligent as humans, angels, or demons. Some of them are even smarter. Not to mention they have poisonous thorns and _can't_ be picked unless they give permission. If you try it, they poison you and you die in about half an hour."

Honest nodded his agreement. "And those who die by the poison of a Demon Rose are damned. And they will also poison you if you fail to persuade them."

Oh. Well. Too late to back out, even if he wanted to.

 **To Be Continued**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the chapter. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** I own nothing involved in this story unless I invented it myself. This is written for fun, not for profit. All forms of feedback eagerly accepted. Concrit is loved the most, but everything is welcome.  
 **Fandom:** Yu-Gi-Oh GX  
 **Title:** Kiss of the Demon Rose  
 **Romance:** Ryou x Yuusuke/Yuusuke x Ryou  
 **Other Romances:** Yubel x Juudai  
 **Other Characters:** Fubuki  
 **Word Count:** chapter: 2,302|| **story:** 6,666  
 **Genre:** Romance, Drama|| **Rated:** PG-13  
 **Written For:** Diversity Writing Challenge, section H5, a three-shot; One Ship Boot Camp, #30, rose; Word Count Set Boot Camp, #15, 6,666; One Big Series Bingo, #006, a threeshot; Valentine's Day to White Day 2015, day #18, include a character giving another a flower; Advent 2015, day #22, write an AU; New Year's Mini-Advent 2015-2016, write a fic between 5k-8 k  
 **Notes:** This takes place in my Shadow Demons universe, where Ryou is a demon prince, Yuusuke is a shadow mage, Fubuki is an angel, and now introducing Juudai and Yubel.  
 **Summary:** Many people wish to give flowers to the ones that they love. The king of the demons isn't any different in that regard. No one ever told Yuusuke that loving a demon prince meant having to pluck a rose that has opinions on being plucked, much less being a demonic floral delivery service.

* * *

Every step they took deeper into the garden had Yuusuke searching for any sign of the Demon Rose. He didn't know what one looked like, but since it had to be persuaded, it probably had ears of some kind, and it would be big, more than likely. Dangerous, without a doubt. Plenty of poisonous thorns.

The more he thought about it, the more he became convinced that Honest might've had a point in the first place.

No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than a low laugh echoed all around them. He almost didn't stop, but Ryou's hand on his shoulder pulled him back.

"There," the demon prince said, indicating with one hand where to look. Yuusuke followed the gesture and swallowed in surprise.

He'd been right and he'd been wrong. It was big, but there weren't any ears. Each thorn on the vines – and he could not count how many there were – gleamed as sharp and bright as a warrior's sword, with a thin thread of something gleaming at the tip.

The blossoms themselves shone as red as blood, and the entire flower tilted toward them.

 **Prince of my people. Two angels. And a human. An unusual group to come seeking me.**

Yuusuke couldn't see any mouth, but the words echoed in his mind nevertheless. He steeled himself and raised his head to look at the lovely blossom.

"We were sent here by King Juudai. He wishes to present you to his consort as a celebration of their anniversary."

 **Does he indeed. Has it been five thousand years already? Time flies, be it Heaven, Hell, or Earth.** Slowly the rose turned and if it had possessed eyes, Yuusuke would have sworn that it looked at them all.

It did anyway. It didn't need eyes.

 **You passed into the garden, which means the gatekeeper allowed it. You passed the gates, which means you are on this quest willingly, for none who spoke their name without meaning it would have opened the gates. But now your third task awaits: to persuade me. Which of you will attempt this and risk their immortal soul?**

Yuusuke glanced quickly at the others, but before any of them could declare it, he stepped ahead of them. "I will. Prince Ryou can return to Hell whenever he chooses. Honest and Fubuki can go back to Heaven. If anyone is going to be at risk here, it's going to be me."

The flower tilted toward him, not close enough to touch, but Yuusuke could breathe in the sweet aroma of the blossoms.

 **A brave mage you are, Fujiwara Yuusuke, who walks with two angels and loves a demon prince. Tell me, then, why I should allow this request of yours and not damn you for all time?** There was a soft, amused chuckle then. **You share the bed of a demon prince. But damnation is far, far worse than his embrace could ever be. You are aware of this, I presume.**

"Of course I am. I don't _want_ to be damned, but it's only right that the person who is genuinely at risk be the one who has the most to lose."

Ryou's hand hadn't left Yuusuke's shoulder. Now Honest rested his on the other one, and Fubuki folded his on the back of Yuusuke's neck. They weren't trying to protect him. He would have known if that was what they had in mind. Instead, they stood by him, supporting his right to do this.

 **So be it, then. Speak, mage of shadows, and persuade me. I have a comfortable home here and have lived here a thousand years. Why should I wish to go elsewhere? Why should I wish to sink my roots back into Hell, even in such a lovely place as the King's palace?**

Yuusuke raised his head firmly. "I honestly don't know. I've never been to Hell. I don't really want to go, unless I knew I could come back safely." Ryou's offers to visit had always been sincere, but they weren't something Yuusuke felt comfortable accepting, not just yet. "But the king wants to give you to the person that he loves. That has to mean something, doesn't it?"

 **Perhaps it does. Perhaps it doesn't. But you make a small case. Love is rare among demons. Your lover knows this well. And the King of Hell has found it twice, once among mortals and once among immortals. Rare as it may be, is that enough for me? Speak again, mage, and tell me what you truly think of his.**

Yuusuke didn't see a reason yet to give up. He forged forward. "I think that it's a shame that he couldn't come here and talk to you himself. I don't understand all the reasoning on why, but I have to believe that they make sense, because I trust Ryou."

He paused for a breath and the Demon Rose spoke.

 **You trust a being that you know wishes to damn you, so that the two of you will be together forever. Despite knowing this. Despite the advice of two angels.**

Yuusuke's mouth quirked. "One angel. Fubuki doesn't want me damned, but he thinks Ryou and I make a good couple anyway."

 **I am corrected.** Was that humor he heard there? He thought so.

"But, I do trust Ryou. I'm going to have to do something, sooner or later, or I'm going to die and we'll never see each other again. I don't want that." He shook his head, not even wanting to think about that. "I don't know what I'm going to do, just that I have to do it."

He frowned, trying to pull his head back to where it belonged, persuading the Rose. "Is that a good enough reason? For the sake of love among demons?"

 **I said you made a small case, not a good enough one. Not yet. But it grows better. I ask this, then: if I said no, would you just let me kill you? You know that is the penalty for failing. You could not be here and not know it.**

"I know." Yuusuke glanced at his companions. He couldn't read Ryou's expression, but that wasn't unusual. Fubuki was smiling, but he almost always smiled. It was when he didn't that things got even more dangerous than they were now. Honest just watched the Demon Rose with caution. "And if I fail, then no, I won't just _let_ myself die and be damned." He had magic tingling in his fingertips, shields to protect himself, ways to avoid being hit by the thorns, and he wondered if a sheet of fire would be enough to incinerate a Demon Rose. He would find out, if he had to.

 **Your courage pleases me. But I still have heard no reason as to why I should go back to Hell.**

Yuusuke racked his brains, trying to find an answer. The rose's words repeated in his mind as he tried to find something, anything. He had the oddest feeling the Rose was trying to help him work through all of this.

 _Why should it go back? Just because King Juudai wants it to?_ Kings among mortals had great power and could command works that were just short of miracles from their magicians. What could a demon king do? Why should his words mean anything to a creature that did not live in his lands anymore?

For the same reason that Ryou obeyed those commands, he thought. Because the King of Demons commanded and demons obeyed.

But he still couldn't bring himself to say that. It didn't feel right. He pressed his lips together, searching for an answer that _would_ be right.

His gaze flickered over the rose, catching sight of a few small bumps here and there. _Seeds? Are those seeds?_ Perhaps. And if they were…

Yuusuke knew what to say now. "You don't have to go yourself. The King just said to bring him _one_ Demon Rose, not you in particular." He gestured toward the bumps he could see. "If those are your seeds, then you could send one of those." Another idea flickered in and he took hold of it with strong mental hands. "Because you're a flower, you see. And flowers spread with their seeds. And where else can a Demon Rose grow to their strongest except in Hell itself, tended by the King of Demons and his consorts?"

Absolute silence fell. The thorned vines moved slowly, inching closer to Yuusuke, and he prepared himself, ready to cast any defensive spells he could do at a moment's notice.

 **Your quickest spells would do me no harm, Fujiwara Yuusuke. As you said, I grew to my strongest in Hell, tended by my King and his consort. And so shall my offspring. Catch.**

One vine rose up until it hovered over Yuusuke, the largest of the bumps swelling until it cracked open and a seed fell into Yuusuke's outstretched hands. He stared down at it, aware of how hot it was and of how he could hardly believe what had just happened.

The vine dropped down to touch the side of his face. None of the thorns touched him. It felt almost like a gentle caress.

 **You are strong, young mage. Perhaps more than you know. I am very pleased to have met you.** The vine shifted, now indicating something on the opposite side that they'd entered by. **Go through there. You'll find yourselves outside of the garden.**

Yuusuke caught his breath, holding the seed closer to himself, and wondered if this were all some kind of strange dream. But the others urged him onward and he moved that way. His steps only faltered when he heard the Demon Rose call out for Ryou.

He wished that human mouths could shape the language of demons, because if he could have persuaded Ryou to teach him the tongue, then he would have known what the Rose said. Instead, all he heard was a group of sounds that meant nothing to him coming from each of them in turn.

When they were done, Ryou turned back, and Yuusuke's jaw fair dropped, since his lover was _smiling_. It wasn't often that such an expression could be found on his features, let alone one that flooded Yuusuke with such warmth when their eyes met.

"What happened?" He thought he deserved to know that much, at lest, as they headed for the gate out of the garden.

"Demon Rose gave me some helpful suggestions, that's all. I'll tell you about them later. Now isn't the time."

As much as Yuusuke really wanted to know now, he knew there was only so far that one could push Ryou, even when he was that one. Not to mention that despite having been here such a short period of time, what Yuusuke really wanted was rest. Arguing with a demon of any sort took it out of him.

* * *

"I'll take this to the palace," Ryou said, taking the seed as Yuusuke handed it to him. "I'll meet you again after you've left this kingdom."

Ryou wanted to spend no more time here in Boltwood than eh had to. Every inch of the place made his skin crawl and his wings itch. Better to take the seed to where Yuusuke couldn't go and hand it over, then come back once the others left the area. Much less chances that way of anything going wrong.

He pressed his lips to Yuusuke's, enfolding him once more in the magic that made it clear the shadow mage lived under a demon prince's protection, then snapped his wings open, sinking into the deepest shadows. When his vision cleared, he stood outside of the royal palace of Hell. The guards there snapped to attention as soon as they realized who stood out there, and he walked by them without a word. Bound to live on Earth for the duration of Yuusuke's life or not, he was still one of the highest ranking princes of Hell and that commanded respect.

Soon enough he stood in front of Juudai, who accepted the seed with a gleeful squeal.

"Yubel's going to love this! I'll plant it in the garden tonight. It should sprout just in time." He glanced toward Ryou. "You can stay, can you? It's been too long. Shou misses you."

Juudai glanced over to the corner where a demon smaller than Juudai himself, let alone Ryou, stood watching them. Shou hadn't gained his full growth yet; his wings weren't big enough so he could fly and his tail was just a small nub instead of the graceful whip that Ryou sported. But he smiled when he saw his brother there.

"Big brother," he murmured. "Are you staying long?"

Ryou shrugged. "Not all that long. I have someone to go back to."

Shou's eyes lit up with a light that at times made Ryou wonder just how much of a demon his little brother really was. "I heard about that! Is he really a human? What's he like? Can I meet him?"

Ryou let out an amused breath. "Maybe later. When your wings are strong." He'd said that many a time before. Shou needed to grow before he'd be allowed on Earth. Right now he was too vulnerable to demon hunters and those who would cause problems of any kind for their people. Having come from Boltwood, Ryou wasn't going to take any chances on what the people there might try if they knew about him.

But for now, Ryou had a little time to spare, and he'd been away from home for a long time, at least by human standards. "What have you been doing while I was away?" And he would be very glad to spend it in the company of his king and his brother.

 **The End**

 **Note:** Thank you for reading and I hope that you enjoyed the story. Please let me know what you thought of it if at all possible.


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